Burr had played in the band Samson before serving as a member of Iron Maiden from 1980-82. He later performed with the bands Trust, Stratus, Gogmagog, Elixir, Desperado, Praying Mantis and Alcatrazz, Rolling Stone said.

After Burr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis several years ago, his former band Iron Maiden performed charity concerts to help him pay for his medical bills, VH1 said.

"This is terribly sad news," Iron Maiden founder/bassist Steve Harris said on the band's official website. "Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out. This is a sad day for everyone in the band and those around him and our thoughts and condolences are with his partner Mimi and family at this time."

"I first met Clive when he was leaving Samson and joining Iron Maiden," Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson said on the website. "He was a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full. Even during the darkest days of his MS, Clive never lost his sense of humor or irreverence."

MERYL STREEP: Triple Oscar-winner Meryl Streep will encourage people to get screened for colon cancer in public service announcements to air this month on U.S. television.

"For me, screening was simple and quick. It was no big deal, except for the huge sense of relief you feel afterwards," Streep says in one of the ads which are being released in March, National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

The PSAs are to have their television premiere Wednesday on "Katie!"

The campaign is a collaboration between the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, co-founded by Katie Couric, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the CDC's Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign.

Streep, 63, said she was motivated to get screened after seeing Couric's efforts on television to educate the public about screening's life-saving value. The actress said she then encouraged her family members to do the same.

"I made my husband get screened. I made my brothers get screened. ... I made everyone I love get screened," Streep said. "It's important to get the word out; people should know how easy it is to go through the procedure that can detect polyps and early cancer."

"Time and again, we've seen that celebrities can bring much-needed attention to the need for colorectal cancer screening, as they have done so successfully with this campaign. 'Icon' is overused, but Meryl Streep truly is an American -- and worldwide -- icon. She is an ideal ambassador to convey that screening saves lives, and we are profoundly grateful for her support," said Couric.

'VERONICA MARS:' "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas says he will make a movie based on the California detective show if fans donate $2 million before an April deadline.

Show star Kristen Bell said in a message posted Wednesday on the fundraising website Kickstarter.com she is willing to reprise her role in the film if the financing comes together.

Nearly $800,000 was pledged by Wednesday afternoon, with a goal of $2 million by April 12.

"Almost since 'Veronica Mars' went off the air, there's been talk of making a movie. In that span, I've taken different tactics in dealing with the question of whether it might happen. To be clear, I've always wanted to make a 'Veronica Mars' movie. I love writing these characters and working with these actors. Kristen Bell has always wanted to make the movie," Thomas wrote on the website.

Although he said he is consistently asked about his plans to bring the scrappy private detective to the big screen, the writer-director-producer said Warner Bros. wasn't convinced "there was enough interest to warrant a major studio-sized movie about Veronica."

Thomas said he and Bell met with executives at the studio, who sanctioned their effort to see if they could raise some money on their own to make the film.

"They were extremely cool about it, as a matter of fact. Their reaction was, if you can show there's enough fan interest to warrant a movie, we're on board. So this is it. This is our shot. I believe it's the only one we've got. It's nerve-wracking. I suppose we could fail in spectacular fashion, but there's also the chance that we completely revolutionize how projects like ours can get made," Thomas wrote. "If the project is successful, our plan is to go into production this summer and the movie will be released in early 2014. ... Thanks to everyone who hasn't lost faith."

"I am currently the happiest blonde in a hamster ball the world has ever seen. We have been waiting so long to make this movie dream a movie reality, and it's because of your commitment, your persistence, that we finally have a chance. We just have one more step to go," Bell wrote in a separate posting on the website. "You have banded together like the sassy little honey badgers you are and made this possibility happen. i promise if we hit our goal, we will make the sleuthiest, snarkiest, it's-all-fun-and-games-'til-one-of-you-gets-my-foot-up-your-ass movie we possibly can."

JOHN STAMOS: Actor John Stamos has signed on as a recurring guest star in Season 3 of the drama series "Necessary Roughness," USA Network said Wednesday.

Stamos is known for his work on TV's "Full House," "ER," "Glee" and "The New Normal."

He will play Connor McClane, the founder of V3, a sports and entertainment management company that has expanded into a global empire, on the football-themed series "Necessary Roughness," which stars Callie Thorne, Mehcad Brooks, Scott Cohen and Marc Blucas.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the series is shot in Atlanta and will film 10 episodes for Season 3.

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